Truett's Stay in the CICU

After Truett's surgery he spent 3 nights in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU). For the most part, we received excellent care during our stay. We had one nurse that made us quite uneasy with her lack of confidence, but apart from that we were thrilled with the doctors and nurses.

Here's Truett surrounded by all the machines...quite an impressive set-up for such a little person.

I spent a great deal of time looking at this screen in those early hours. The green number is Truett's heart rate, the red is blood pressure, I don't remember what the top blue is, the bottom blue is pulse-ox, and the white is breaths per minute. The purple is another blood pressure reading. It was automatically taken every 10 minutes for the first couple of days.

On Friday morning Truett's drain tube came out along with the breathing tube and stomach tube. He did not enjoy being messed with at all, but we rejoiced at each milestone that brought us closer to going home.

Late Friday morning I finally got my hands on my little man. It was the best feeling to snuggle Truett again. Never again will I take time with my kids for granted. Each hug, each snuggle, each smile or secret shared is such a miraculous gift. I thank God for the privilege of being mom to my two kids.

My two favorite boys sharing a much-needed nap.

Emily was our favorite CICU nurse. She took the time to get to know Brett and I. She's a mom to 2 little girls, one of whom has her own heart defect. Emily was a gift to us...a tender nurse who felt like a friend during a very exhausting first night in the hospital, and clearly another answer to so many prayers.

On Saturday afternoon, Truett's central line in his neck and arterial line in his wrist came out, and we thanked the Lord for being another step closer to taking Truett home! It was quite amazing to see how all of these medical interventions are applied...both lines were actually attached to Truett with sutures. The line in his wrist had one little stitch holding it in place, and the line in his neck was secured with 3 stitches. It was quite impressive to see the length of the tubes that were threaded into Truett's tiny arteries. I am still amazed to think of all the things endured by my little 11 pound boy.

With the removal of each assistive device, our boy slowly began to resemble his old self. I will forever be grateful for the advanced medical technology used in sustaining and monitoring our sweet boy's life in the past days, but I'll be even more thankful for the memories of watching as each device was taken off and/or wheeled away from Truett's bedside.
Our family was blessed to have our stay in the hospital result in a healthy, working heart for our boy. During our short stay we were, however, reminded that not all who enter those halls are so fortunate. Many children were being treated for far scarier and sadder problems. One family waited with a tiny twin boy while his 7 pound brother fought through his own heart surgery. His problems were significantly more life-threatening than our Truett's. Another family walked the halls with their baby who had just undergone brain surgery as a result of being shaken by a caregiver. His parents aren't sure if he'll ever be able to see. One child's parents were nowhere to be found as he waited to return for emergency surgery. His lungs filled with fluid the day after his heart surgery, and the surgeons needed approval from his parents before they could proceed with his care. I felt so sad for that boy, as he spent an entire evening all alone in the ICU.

We live in a broken world filled with heartache and sadness. Many have commented on my incredible strength and faith throughout this ordeal. I can only praise the Lord for blessing me and our family with His matchless grace to walk through this difficult weak. I have learned that God's grace is proven perfect when we walk through moments of great uncertainty. He is able to sustain us, and He alone provides us with the necessary strength to endure in a way that miraculously brings glory to His name.

A big day for a little heart

Yesterday was Truett's big surgery day. We woke up early, dropped Maren off with Brett's parents and made our way to Children's Hospital in Denver. Here's me with Truett just before we left home.

Brett, Truett and me waiting to be registered for surgery.

We spent quite a long time waiting for the surgery to begin. We could tell that many were praying for us as Truett, who was incredibly hungry at this point, remained calm and restful as we waited. I was dreading the time when I'd have to say goodbye, and again God was incredibly gracious to us in providing us with a kind and wonderful nurse to take him away. I felt perfectly comfortable placing my baby in her arms. And then I cried buckets! Here we are waiting for the big moment...

We felt an incredible peace while Truett was in surgery. Our surgical nurse, Esther, was excellent about keeping us informed about Truett's progress. Evidently, the coarc was quite severe and would've quickly become much more problematic if we hadn't had the surgery done right away. Again, we're so thankful with how God worked out so many details in our sweet boy's life. When we finally got word that the surgery was completed and was successful, we were so thrilled!

It was so hard to see our little angel all hooked up to so many machines and tubes. I keep reminding myself what a gift it is to have this technology available to us. We pray that Truett will live a long and healthy life as a result of the interventions done now.

A first visit from Daddy...

Finally getting to see my baby!

He looked so small and helpless...the small white rectangle under his arm is where the incision was.
We were able to get a bit of rest last night. Truett continues to show signs of strength and improvement. His drain tube came out this morning, followed shortly by the breathing tube and the tube going into his stomach. I was able to hold him for the first time, which was such a gift!

The Day Before

Our busy day started out like this...
Doesn't he look so peaceful? We stayed in a hotel room up in Denver since our appointment was so early in the morning. Truett woke up around 5 and he was freezing (you know how temperamental hotel heating and cooling systems can be!), so I enjoyed some early morning snuggles.

At 7:30 am, we met the sweetest lady, Lindsey, at the hospital. She took us around to the first portion of our meetings. Our first stop was the lab for a blood draw. After the initial poke of the needle, Truett just stared down the guy who was doing the draw. He was such a little trooper.

Here we are at the start of our day...

After the blood draw, Truett had a chest x-ray and then we moved on to the cardiac area where he had a check-up, EKG, and an echo (sonogram). Here we are all hooked up for the EKG. Truett did not enjoy this part of the day very much at all. I don't blame him...look at all those wires!

Finally the poking and prodding portion of our day ended, and Truett totally cashed out.
He slept through our tours of the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU-where T will go as soon as he's out of surgery) and the Cardiac Progressive Care Unit (CPCU-where he will go on the second or third day after surgery and remain for the rest of his stay). We had great meetings with the surgeon and with the anaesthesiologist. I feel so confident in their ability to do their jobs well, and to take great care of our sweet boy tomorrow. We felt as though it were an incredible blessing to have the opportunity to become familiar with the facility and with the staff during our visit today. The hospital is beautiful and there are so many wonderful ways in which they care for the families of heart babies.

After we finished up at the hospital we enjoyed a late lunch, and Truett did some more of this...

They sent us home with a special soap to clean Truett up with tonight. He wasn't all that thrilled with his 'spa treatment'. Ha!

And, right there on his left side is where the incision will be. They will cut from his side around to his back and then separate 2 of his ribs in order to perform the surgery. He'll likely have a breathing tube down his nose, a drain near the incision, a central line in his neck, 2 other lines in his right arm and an i.v. in the left arm. I do not look forward to seeing my little boy all 'messed up' but I have great hope that this will help him to live a long and healthy life. We pray for the Lord's hand to be evident throughout the coming days. I know he will watch over our baby boy tomorrow while he's in surgery, and I know that he will give us the grace to wait patiently throughout the day.
Thanks so much for following along with us as we embark on this unexpected journey. We are so grateful for all of your prayers during the coming days!

Not what we'd hoped to hear...

Well...our doctor's appointment did not go as we had hoped this morning. Our sweet boy's little heart is getting worse, and he is scheduled for surgery on Thursday morning. I am feeling overwhelmed and quite sad at the moment. It's such a scary prospect to know that your 7-week-old baby is going to have major surgery. I hadn't prepared myself for the possibility of things moving so quickly, which is making it all seem so much scarier.

I am clinging to the fact that God is still in control, even when I feel like things are very much out of control. Truett's name means 'small and honest' and I can't help but think of how true both of those meanings are at this point. He seems so small to be facing all of these big things, and he is still so sweetly innocent.

For my entire adult life, I have loved 2 Corinthians 9:8...And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

I am very much relying on God's grace to sustain us in the coming days. My faith is being tested and strengthened in a way unlike anything I've experienced previously. I have always believed in God's sovereignty, but it is a difficult thing to really let go of that which you hold dearest and to surrender it to the Lord in such a tangible way.

Friends, will you please join us in praying for this precious boy? And for the medical team that will be performing surgery on his little heart Thursday morning? And for our family as we walk through these hard days ahead?
Thank you.

My first quilt

I did it! I finished my very first quilt! A few months ago, I joined the Front Range Modern Quilt Guild. It has been one of the most fun and inspiring things I've done in quite some time. I've also been blessed to make some wonderful new friends.

One benefit of being a guild member is having the opportunity to participate in various challenges. For this quilt, we were given [yup...for FREE!] a charm pack of Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton Solids. The 'rules' chosen by our guild were to include at least a portion from each color in the pack, to only use one additional fabric for the front of the quilt, and to create a quilt that was at least 40 in. by 40 in.

Here is my finished quilt:

I love how cheerful and summery the quilt turned out. The flowers and leaves are raw-edge appliqued, and I used a simple grid pattern for the machine quilting.

After the quilt was washed, the edges of the flowers have a cool, messy texture.

I had an equally great time finishing the back of this quilt.


I'm officially hooked! There are 3 more in-progress quilts sitting on the table in my craft room. I'm so thankful to have a creative outlet. It's nice to have something to keep my hands and mind busy during my evenings. If you've got a spare moment or two, check out what some other quilters from across the country have created for their own Robert Kaufman challenge quilts here. There are some mighty talented individuals out there in the quilting world!

Getting sloppy and why I love my husband

Happy Monday! This was my view while I ate my breakfast this morning...
Not bad, huh? [Notice the little sneak peek at our new floors? I'll show you more later!] Truett is enamored with his big sister. She can make him smile bigger than anyone else. I'm glad to be reminded of the good mood he was in this morning...he's had a fussy afternoon.

We had a nice weekend. Yesterday while I was sitting on the couch feeding Truett, Maren approached me and eagerly asked if she could go get sloppy. What?! We'd just had a huge rainstorm pass through, so I thought maybe she was wanting to go jump in the puddles...I could not imagine what else she could possibly mean by 'getting sloppy'.

Me: I don't know what you mean, sweetheart...you want to get sloppy?

Maren: I want to get sloppy...please?!

Me: Honey...do you want to go outside?

Maren: [Earnestly pleading at this point] Mom...please can we get sloppy?

Me: I'm so sorry, Maren, but I don't know what you're talking about...

Maren: [Perplexed that I don't know what she's referring to] Mom...it's a drink!

Me: [Finally making sense of what she's asking] Oh...you mean a Slurpee?

Maren: YES! A Slurpee! [And she lets out a little giggle of glee.]

Fifteen minutes later she was off to 7-11 with her dad, and I was still chuckling on the couch. I love that girl so much!


I also love my husband. He knows me so well. We have, after all, spent nearly 9 [!] years of our lives together. This past week was emotionally draining for me, and I was thoroughly looking forward to a weekend with no agenda. Friday night Brett showed up at the door with these:
I am so thankful to have a husband who loves me dearly, and knows me well enough to surprise me in the moments I need it most. I couldn't think of a better person to walk alongside through this season of life. He is such a gift.

Tomorrow we have our follow-up appointment with Truett's cardiologist. Please pray for us to have wisdom in asking the right questions and in making the decisions awaiting us in the coming weeks and months. In case you're not sure what I'm talking about, you can read about our sweet baby's story here.

Stop by tomorrow morning for a peek at my very first quilt...I can't wait to share!

Be sure to visit Heather's for some lovely Monday inspiration:

Straw Painting

Maren and I have been having the most fun lately doing all sorts of crafty things. I am thrilled to have a little girl around who shares my enthusiasm for creativity!

While Truett was doing this...

Maren and I were doing this...
Using regular old Crayola watercolors, we started by making a line of green. We were sure to use lots of water so there would be something to 'blow' with the straw.

Once we had our green on the paper, we used straws to blow the excess water all over the place, creating grass for our flowers.

Finally, we added big, colorful blooms to the grass. This proved to be a really fun painting project, as {almost!} 3-year-old Maren was able to complete her very own masterpiece from start to finish.

This is what happens when you use the same technique on big circles of paint instead of on a line. Maybe when Truett is a little bigger he'll make spiders with me!